Counter-current condenser.



Patented May 23,1916.

wi/mwoeb THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

JOHN F. GRACE, OF KEARNEY, NEW JERSEY,ASSIGNOR TO HENRY R. WORTHINGTON,

A CORPORATION OFNEW JERSEY.

COUNTEBFCURBENT CONDENSER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 15, 1913. Serial No. 801,169; a

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN F. GRAoE, a citizenof the United States, residing at Kearney, county of Hudson, and Stateof New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCounter-Current Condensers, fully described and represented in thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthe same.

This invention relates to jet condensers, and especially to countercurrent condensers, the especial object of the invention being toprovide an improved construction by which a more eflicient action shallbe secured, and which shall be simple, cheap and convenient inmanufacture and use',and further, to provide improved devices'forcooling the air, and separating water therefrom, sothat the size of thedry vacuumpump may be reduced. While the invention is especiallyapplicable to counter current condensers, many of the features areapplicable also to jet condensers of other classes, and'are thusclaimed. 7 I 1 p For a full understanding of the invention, a detaileddescription of a counter current condenser embodying all the features ofthe same in their preferred form will now be given in connection withthe accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and thefeatures forming the invention then specifically pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical, central section of thecondenser. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are cross sections of the same, onrespectively lines 2, '3 and 1 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the condenser shell is preferably 'madeinsections, as shown, A being the inlet section having the steamexhaustinlet 10 at'one side, B the condensing chamber section mountedonin-. let section A, and having the injection or condensing water inlet11, C the'air outlet chamber mounted on section B and having the airoutlet 12, connected to the usual dry vacuum pump, andD the dischargeoutlet section below inlet section A, having the outlet 13 connected tobarometric pipe or discharge pump. These sections are preferablyarranged, as shown, so that each lower section supports those above-it,and the construction is preferably such, as described hereafter, thatthe condenser shell and all he Wat r trays and o h r partswi h.

in the shell may be supported and properly 1 held in place without theuse of any bolts in contact with the circulating water, or at any placewithin the condensing chamber, so that only. one metal,usually castiron, is in contact with the water, thus enablingthe condenser to beused with water containing acids, without injury, and reducing largelythe expense of manufacture and erection of the condenser, by avoidingthe drilling and tapplng for bolts, and the fitting, bolting, etc., inerection. 1

Q Referring now to the interior construction of the condenser, 14: isavertical sleeve within the casing opposite the water'inlet 11, forming acondensing water chamber 15 between it and the outer shell, this sleeve14: being seated on an interior shoulderil on casing section B, andpreferably being provided with an annular series. of openings 2, throughwhich small water jets are thrown inwardly.v Within the sleeve 14," andre? ceiving the condensing water flowing over the top edge of thesleeve, is the first water tray 16 provided withsmall jet openings 3over its bottom, through which the water fiowsdownward.- This tray 16 issupported by feet 4 set into notches in standards 5 on the next lowerlwater tray 17, and is open at the center within the series ofperforations 3 to receive the air pipe 18 extending upward and throughwhich the air passes to the air chamber C andair outlet 12. The secondtray 17 is provided with perforat-lOIIS'G in its bottom, whichpreferably are .larger than perforations 3, 'andthe water flows in jetsthrough these'perforations and off the bottom of the, tray 17 betweenthe standardsb, into the third tray 19,. which is provided with bottomperforations 7, preferably larger than theperforations 6. Thistray. 19is hunginside the casing sec- 7 tion 13, by cars 20 on the tray, havingvertical ribs 8 on theirunder side which extend downward 7 betweeninwardly projecting lugs 9 upon the casing, so that the tray is held inproper circumferential position and supported by the lugs. This-thirdtray19 also supports the second tray 17, the latter having feet 21resting 'on' the, bottom of tray 19.

Below tray 19 is the fourth tray, this tray being formed by inner flange22 on the inlet casing A and short vertical cylinder 23 set into theopening Within the flange to form the inner wall of the tray andsupported by ears 26 on the outside of the cylinder, which rest upon thesaid flange 22. The opening for the cylinder is not concentric with thecasing, but arranged at one side of the center, away from the steaminlet 10, thus securing a better distribution of the steam by carryingthe steam over farther from the inlet toward the opposite wall of thecasing. The cylinder 23 is provided on the side away from the steaminlet with a I openings 7 in tray 19. The steam inlet 10 and inletcasing'A may be turned in any direction desired relatively to the casingsection B, for convenience in'erecting, and the cylinder 23, with thenotched edge 25 on the side of the condenser away from inlet 10, is heldin position by vertical ribs 27 on the top of one of thesupporting lugs26. between one or the other of the pairs of lugs 28 on the inner sideof the casing section B'. The

' cylinder preferably smaller thanthe opening in flange 22' and held inposition in the opening by ribs 29 on the outside of the cylinder, sothat. a narrow water space is provided around the cylinder through whichwater flows downward. The sheet of water flowing downward through thisspace on the rear side of the con'denser'is broken up into jets andthrown forward by baffles .30, but the'sheet. of water at the front orinlet side of the condenser is preferably continuo ls or nearly so todirectthe' steam around the condenser tothe free entry space at thebackand secure proper steam distribution.

Referring now to the air cooling and separating devices, the air pipe 18is supported by a flange on the bottom of trayv 16, and in turn connectsat its upper endwith the center of separator E, the air pipe 18conmeeting with curved radial passages 31 in the separator, by which a.centrifugal or cyclonic action is. secured, acting to separate the waterfrom the air, the water then flowing downward into tray 16, and the airpassing upwardthrough chamber 0 and air pipe 12 to the dry vacuum pump.The cen- .trifugal air separator is supported at its edges by resting oninterior shoulders 32 on the upper end of casing section B.

A spray pipe ispreferably used forspraying water into the air in pipe 18below the separator E, spray pipe 33 being shown for this purpose, thelower end of which is formed in any suitable manner to secure thespraying action desired. In cases in which the condensing water is ofsufficiently low temperature, this spray pipe may be supplied withcondensing water or may be omitted, but the independent spray pipeconstruction shown also enables cold water to be brought in from anothersource for cool-- ing the air, so that water of any desired temperaturemay be used for this purpose, irrespective of the temperature of thecondensing water. This feature is important, in that it enables asmaller dry vacuum pump to be used.

The invention provides a very efficient counter current condenser, bywhich the desired condensing action can be secured with a smallercondenser and a less quantity of condensing water than previously used,and which is cheap of manufacture, and simple and convenient inconstruction and repair. The gradually increasing size of the openingsin the bottoms of the trays, with the smaller openings above, isimportant in that any foreign matter coming into the condenser of suchsize as to pass through the first openings, passes readily through therest of the trays tothe discharge, and the larger material is collectedin the top tray, from which it may readily be removed through thehandhole 40 shown. An important feature also is the fact that theexcess' water flowing from the upper pans passes directly downward tothe bottom pan at the side or in the outer portion of the condensingchamber, so as not to close the spaces between the'pans or choke thepassage to the air suction, as is liable to happen in other countercurrent jet condensers in which the water is delivered in all quantitiesin a serial flow from pan to pan. This condenser also secures theadvantage of using the central space, with a heavy rainfallthereinthrough the slots in the pans, so that the water is finelydivided through the entire condenser. The water spray arrangementopposite the exhaust inlet also provides for proper distribution ofsteam and avoids the tendency to deadness, the steam being directedaround the condenser and having a: free entry at the rear side, so as tobe well distributed throughout the vcondenser.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the exactform or arrangement of parts shown, but that the features forming theinvention, as defined by the claims, may be embodied in differentconstructions.

What is claimed is 1. In a counter current condenser, a plurality ofwater trays arranged one above the other, said traysbeing arranged forthe discharge of overflow from the edges of' the trays outward to thecondenser wall and downward outside the lower trays and provided withspray openings in the bottoms of the trays, the spray openings of thesuccessive trays increasing in size from the upper tray downward, incombination with a condensing Water supply to the upper tray.

2. In a counter current condenser, a plurality of water trays arrangedone above the other and provided with spray openings in the bottoms ofthe trays, said trays being arranged for the discharge of overflow fromthe edges of the trays outward to the condenser wall and downwardoutside the lower trays, to leave the central part of the condenser openfor the steam and water sprays.

3. In a counter current condenser comprising a shell, an inlet shellsection having a side steam inlet and a top flange provided with anopening for the passage of steam and water, in combination with acylinder in said opening forming with the flange and shell a water trayand having the tray wall on one side formed to divide water-flowing overthe edge of the cylinder into separate streams, said cylinder beingpositioned on the inlet section to bring the divided stream Wall ontothe side of the condenser away from the steam inlet in differentpositions of the inlet section. a

4. In a. condenser comprising a shell, an inlet shell section having aside steam inlet and a top flange provided with an opening for thepassage of steam and water, said opening being eccentric to the sectionand on a side away from the inlet, in combination with a cylinder insaid opening forming with the flange and shell a water tray and havingthe tray wall on one side formed to divide water flowing over the edgeof the cylinder into separate streams, said cylinder being positioned onthe inlet section to bring the divided stream wall to the side of thecondenser away from the steam inlet in different positions of the inletsection.

5. In a condenser comprising a shell, an inlet shell section having aside steam inlet and a top flange provided with an opening for thepassage of steam and water, in com-.

bination with a cylinder in said opening forming with the flange andshell a water tray and having the tray wall on one side formed to dividewater flowing over the edge of the cylinder intoseparate streams, saidcylinder being positioned on the inlet section to bring the dividedstream wall onto'the side of the condenser away from the steam inlet indifferent positions of the inlet section, and a substantially continuouswater passage in front of the steam inlet to provide a substantiallycontinuous sheet of water for directing the entering steam around theinlet section of the condenser.

6. In a condenser having a steam inlet at the side, water sprayingdevices above the steam inlet arranged to produce a substantiallycontinuous sheet of water in front of the'steam inlet to directthestream around i the condenser, and divided streams for admission ofthe steam to the condenser space away from in front of the steam inlet.

from the inlet 10 for forming separated streams of water at the rearside of the condenser between which the steam passes.

8. Incombination with condensing chamber B, of steam inlet section Ahaving side steam inlet 10 and top flange 22 provided with a topopening, of cylinder 23 .in said opening forming with the condensingchamber section and flange a water tray and through which the steampasses upward and the water spray downward, and divided wall 25 on theside of the cylinder away from the inlet 10 for forming separatedstreams of water at the rear side of the condenser between which thesteam passes, said cylinder being separated from the flange in front ofthe steam inlet to provide a substantially continuous water spacethrough which a sheet of water passes down in front of the steam inletto direct the steam around the condenser.

9. A counter-current condenser having a plurality of water-traysarranged oneabove the other and provided with spray openings in thebottoms of the trays, and with the top tray and a lower tray or traysseparated from the wall of the condenser to provide space for theoverflow from the upper tray or trays to pass between the lower tray ortrays and the condenser wall.

10. A counter-current condenserhaving a plurality of water-traysarranged one above the other and provided with spray openings in thebottoms of the trays, and with the top and intermediate trays separatedfrom the wall of the condenser to provide space for the overflow fromthe upper tray or trays to pass between the intermediate trays and thecondenser wall directly to the bottom tray.

11. counter-current condenser having a plurallty of water-trays arrangedone above the other and provided with spray openings in the bottoms ofthe trays, and with the top and intermediate trays separated fromthewall of the condenser to provide space for the overflow from the uppertrayor trays to pass between the intermediate trays and the condenserwall directly to the bottom tray, and means whereby overflow from the- 7bottom tray produces a substantially continuous sheet of water in frontof the steam inlet, and divided streams of ater on the side away from.the steam inlet.

12. In a counterycurrent condenser, the combination with a condensingshell section having side condensingwater inlet and an interior"shoulder below said inlet,,of a cy1- inder supported ,by said shoulderand i,arranged, to form with said; shell a reservoir,

.andaplurality of watertrays-arranged one above the otherwithin andextendigngbelow said cylinder, said trays supported from connecting saidseparator withthe space between the-first and second ofsaid trays.

14. In counter current condenser, the

combinationwith a plurality of water trays arranged-fine above the otherand provided with-spray openings inthe bottoms ofsaid trays, of .acentrifugal air separator in the upper portlon of sald condenser havingan air pipe coimectin-gsaid separator with the space betweenthe two toptrays of said plurality,.and aspray pipewithin saidair pipe.andYin-dependent of the condensing water connection for spraying Waterinto the air before its'passage .to the separator.

In testlmony'whereof, I have hereunto set my. hand, in-the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

JOHN F. GRACE.

-Witn'esses J. A. GRAVES, C. TSAW'YER.

Copies ,of-itmsapatentgnay he obtained Ior'five ,eents each,.rbyaddressing the .commissioner-aot Batents.

Washington, D. 0."

